KidShape program helps families learn to make healthy choices

JOHN C. WHITEHEAD/The Patriot-NewsDeb Bolger and her daughter, Katie, 8, of Fairview Twp., recently participated in KidShape, a program that promotes healthy food choices and active lifestyles for children and their families.

Like many kids, Katie Bolger, 8, preferred sweet things, such as candy and cookies, to healthy vegetables and fruits. Her mom, Deb Bolger, saw a pattern of poor eating habits forming that she knew she had to stop, but how?

“I was beside myself because Katie started having digestive problems, yet she didn’t want to eat anything healthy,” said the Fairview Twp. resident. “Katie was at the top of her percentile in height and weight. I wanted to nip this in the bud.”

The Bolgers found help from KidShape, a program at PinnacleHealth System in Harrisburg aimed at promoting healthy food choices and active lifestyles for children and their families.

During the sessions, both children and parents exercise with a trainer. Separately, parents hear information from nutritionists and other health professionals while children learn about self-esteem and healthy living.

“They discourage being obsessed with the scale,” Deb Bolger said. “They want the kids to adopt a healthy lifestyle, not just lose weight, and that’s what we wanted to do as a family, too.”

The strategy worked with Katie. She lost five pounds, and she began realizing the importance of exercise. She’s even reading nutrition labels.

“I think KidShape is awesome,” said the Fairview Elementary School third-grade student. “You get to play games and meet new people. KidShape helped me a lot because you do a lot of exercises and eat healthy snacks.”

Through the Healthy High 5 initiative, the Highmark Foundation supports programs like KidShape to help families learn about healthier lifestyles, said foundation President Yvonne Cook. “Programs are provided to families at no cost, especially in areas where there is great need and access to programming is limited,” she said.

PinnacleHealth got involved to encourage youth to take responsibility for their health now in order to impact their future, said Barbara Terry, vice president for mission effectiveness at PinnacleHealth. "It is well-documented that physical activity and good nutrition not only improves heart health, but serves to prevent chronic illnesses in the future," she said.

PinnacleHealth already has seen results from its first KidShape program in September, when more than 60 percent of children participating lost between one and five pounds, Terry said.

Nationally, 87 percent of more than 12,000 KidShape participants have lost weight. Of those, more than 80 percent maintained weight loss for at least two years, a statistic that PinnacleHealth is hoping to achieve or exceed, Terry said.

“Katie was starting to get teased at school about being chubby. I didn’t want to hurt her self-esteem even more, but I told her we were going to make some changes,” said Deb Bolger, who initially presented KidShape as a mother-daughter activity to Katie. “I learned as much, if not more, than Katie did.”

Katie’s dad, Brian Bolger, and the couple’s other children, ages 18 and 16, went along with the lifestyle changes at home, which include no more sweet snacks in the house and making family hikes a regular activity.

Though Katie was used to having at least one sugary treat a day, now she is allowed to pick one piece of candy once a week. Her mom also stopped taking her along on trips to the grocery store, which were a trigger for Katie’s sugar cravings.

“It’s all about learning how to substitute things your kid will like. If I set a plate of plain broccoli in front of her, no way will she want that, but sprinkle some parmesan cheese on it and now she’ll eat it,” Bolger said. “I think she’s feeling better physically — and when she looks in the mirror. It’s just been great!”

One key to the program’s success is its focus on the positives of being healthy rather than on the reason that might have brought the kids to the program — their weight.

“We never use the word ‘overweight.’ The children are weighed in, but we don’t focus on that. We keep it all positive,” Terry said. “It’s very heartwarming to see the relationships that grow between the kids, their families and our staff.”

PinnacleHealth employees volunteer to run the nine-week program after their regular workday, receiving only a token stipend, Terry said. In addition to funding received from Highmark for the program, PinnacleHealth has a significant investment through employee volunteerism, facilities and additional equipment required to ensure success of the program, Terry said.

Ada Rivera-Castillo, a PinnacleHealth mental health professional, talked with the children about self-image.

“We did a role play of a teasing scenario and the kids brainstormed on things to say,” Rivera-Castillo said. “One child said, ‘Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.’ I thought that was great.”

Katie said if she gets teased again, she will know how to handle it. “I would just walk away from them. But if they kept it up, I would tell the person picking on me that I am fine just the way I am and it’s too bad they don’t feel that way, but it’s their problem, not mine,” she said.

To join KidShape:

Families interested in joining KidShape may call PinnacleHealth's call center at 231-8900. There is a waiting list for the next session, which begins Jan. 26. However, interested participants should call to be placed on the list in case slots open up and for future sessions, which will be filled first with those on the waiting list.

The program targets children ages 6 through 14 with a body mass index in the 85th to 95th percentile for their age.